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Cost  and  Labor  of  English 
Teaching 

by  a  Committee  of  the 

Modern  Language  Association  of  America 

^i      '-" 

and  the 
National  Council  of    Teachers  of   English 


MEMBERS  OF  COMMITTEE 


F.  G.  HUBBARD, 

University  of  Wisconsin. 

A.  B.  NOBLE, 

Iowa  State  College. 

V.  C.  COULTER, 


J.  M.  THOMAS, 

University  of  Minnesota. 

H.  G.  PAUL, 

University  of  Illinois. 

E.  M.  HOPKINS,  Chairman, 


Warrensburg  Normal  School,  Mo.        University  of  Kansas. 


DECEMBER,  1913 


EDITIONS 

PRELIMINARY  REPORT 

Published  by  the  University  of  Kansas  for  distribution  in  Kansas. 
Published  by  the  Iowa  State  Board  of  Education  for  distribution  in  Iowa. 

Published  by  the  Illinois  Association  of  Teachers  of  English  for  distribution 
in  Illinois. 

Distributed  in  Missouri  by  the  English  Department  of  the  University  of  Mis- 
souri. 

Published  by  the  English  Department  of  Mississippi  A.  and  M.  College  for 
distribution  in  Mississippi. 

Published  by  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  for  distribution  in 
Michigan. 

Published  by  the  Wisconsin  Association  of  Teachers  of  English  for  distribution 
in  Wisconsin. 

Published  jointly  by  the  English  Departments  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
College,  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Mt.  Holyoke 
College,  Trinity  College,  and  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  College,  for 
distribution  in  New  England. 

SUPPLEMENTARY  REPORT 

Published  by  the  Illinois  Association  of  Teachers  of  English  for  distribution  in 

Illinois. 
Published  by  the  English  Department  of  the  University  of  Kansas  for  distribution 

in  Kansas. 
Published  by  the  Wisconsin  Association  of  English  Teachers  for  distribution  in 

Wisconsin. 
Distributed  in  Missouri  by  the  Missouri  Society  of  Teachers  of  English  and 

Modern  Languages. 

COMPLETE  EDITION 

Published  by  the  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction  for  distribution  in  Iowa. 
Published  by  the  University  of  Washington  for  distribution  in  the  State  of 
Washington. 


Printed  by  the  Department  of  Journalism  Press,  University  of  Kansas.  Orders 
by  the  hundred,  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents,  carriage  not  prepaid;  by 
the  thousand,  special  rate  on  application.  Single  copies  five  cents  postpaid. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT 

SUMMARY. 

(This  report  presents  the  results  of  an  organized  effort  to  estimate  the  purely 
physical  and  material  factors  of  efficiency  in  English  composition  teaching.) 

1.  English  composition  is  a  fundamental  and  necessary  subject  in  all  schools, 
and  is  of  especial  importance  in  primary  and  secondary  schools. 

2.  Efficiency  of  method,  as  shown  by  many  years  of  investigation  and  dis- 
cussion, is  chiefly  a  matter  of  laboratory  practice  and  of  individual  instruction. 

3.  Under    present    conditions,    the    results  of  English  composition  teaching 
in  almost  all  schools  are  unsatisfactory,  and  are  the  subject  of  general  complaint. 

4.  In  composition  study,  themes  and  exercises  must  be  written;  and  the 
average  of  efficient  practice,  stated  in  average  number    of  words  written  by  a 
single  pupil  weekly,  is  for  high  schools  about  400,  for  college  freshman  classes 
about  650.     (See  page  6.) 

5.  Efficiency  of  method  requires  that  all  such  manuscript  shall  be  read, 
criticised,  and  corrected  by  the  teacher,  either  orally  with  the  pupil,  or  in  writ- 
ing.    (Pages  6,  7,  8  and  10.) 

6.  The   physical  rate,  stated  in  the  average  number  of  words  an  hour,  at 
which  an  average  teacher  can  carefully  read  and  correct  manuscript  is  for  high 
schools  about  2000  and  for  college  freshmen  about  2200.     (Page  7.) 

7.  Long  continued  criticism  and  correcting  of  manscript  is  one  of  the  severest 
tests  of  physical  endurance  to  be  found  in  any  teaching,  and  the  limit  of  full 
and  continued  efficiency  in  it  is  about  two  hours  a  day  or  ten  hours  a  week. 
Much  more  than  this  results  sooner  or  later  in  the  physical  collapse  of  the  teach- 
er.    (Page  7.) 

8.  Under  present     conditions,    the     average     number  of  composition  pu- 
pils assigned  to  a  single  teacher  is  in  high  schools  about  130,  in  college  fresh- 
man classes  about  105.     (Page  8.) 

9.  To  train  this  number  of  pupils  according  to  a  proper  standard  of  effi- 
ciency would  require  of  each  teacher  for  manuscript  reading  alone,  in  high 
schools  26  hours  weekly,  in  colleges  31  hours  weekly;  or  two  and  one-half  times 
the  safe  limit  of  physical  endurance.     (Page  8.) 

10.  Under  existing  conditions,  theme  reading,  the  severest  part  of  the  com- 
position teacher's  labor,  is  commonly  not  counted  or  allowed  for  in  any  way  in 
assigning  his  work.     (Page  10.) 

11.  Under  the  average  of  existing  conditions  it  is  a  physical    impossibility 
by  any  "method"  whatever,  for  any  English  composition  teacher  to  bring  his 
work  to  a  proper  standard  of  efficiency.     Pages  7,  8,  and  21.) 

12.  In  determining  the  proper  duty  of  an  English  composition  teacher,  the 
standard  of  measurement  should  be,  not  the  number  of  teaching  hours,    but  the 
number  of  pupils.     (Page  8.) 

13.  The  average  number  of  pupils  which  a  single  composition  teacher  should 
be  able  to  train,  according  to  a  proper  standard  of  efficiency  is    under  average 
conditions,  for  high  schools  about  50,  for  college  freshman  elates  about  35. 
Conditions  in  particular  cases  may  increase  or  diminish  this  number.     (Page  8.) 

14.  English  composition,  usually  taught  in  colleges  by  the  younger  and  less 
experienced  instructors,  should  be  taught  by  the  best  teachers  of  a  department. 
(Page  11.) 

15.  Teachers  should  not  teach  English  composition  exclusively.     (Page  10.) 

16.  It  is   commonly   better  to  employ  "theme  readers  "than  to  leave  themes 
unread,  but  the  practice  seldom  maintains  a  proper  standard  of  efficiency. 
(Page  11.) 


COMMITTEE  ON  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  ENGLISH 

Pursuant  to  the  action  of  the  English  Council  and  of  the  Bureau  of  Education 
(see  pages  14  and  23),  the  committee  of  six  on  the  labor  and  cost  of  high  school 
and  college  English  has  been  enlarged  to  fifteen  for  the  study  of  the  conditions, 
methods,  and  results  of  English  teaching  in  elementary  schools.  At  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Council  held  in  Chicago  November  27  to  29,  1913,  the  committee 
secured  the  approval  of  the  Council  for  its  general  plan,  and  the  adoption  of 
resolutions  requesting  colleges  and  high  school  accrediting  organizations  to  take 
action  toward  establishing  a  maximum  for  the  number  of  pupils  to  be  assigned 
to  a  single  English  teacher,  in  accordance  with  the  conclusions  of  the  present 
report;  conclusions  that  after  three  years,  and  after  fifteen  editions  of  the  report 
totaling  more  than  25,000  copies  have  been  issued,  stand  unquestioned,  besides 
receiving  incidental  verification  from  several  related  investigations.  Various 
schools  and  organizations  have  already  taken  such  action,  with  eminently  satis- 
factory results;  and  the  Council  resolutions  are  designed  to  make  such  action 
more  general.  For  the  text  of  these  resolutions  address  the  secretary  of  the 
Council,  Professor  James  F.  Hosic,  Chicago  Teachers'  College. 

The  plan  for  conducting  the  inquiry  into  the  English  of  elementary  schools  is 
as  follows:  Every  state  or  district  organization  of  teachers  is  asked  to  appoint  a 
special  committee  to  name  as  many  local  sub-committees  as  possible  within  its 
territory  and  to  report  the  list  to  the  chairman  of  the  central  committee  named 
below.  Names  representing  one  hundred  localities,  more  or  less  as  may  be  con- 
venient in  each  instance,  will  be  sufficient,  and  the  localities  may  include  cities, 
towns,  and  county  rural  schools..  To  both  state  and  local  committees  further 
instructions  will  then  be  sent  with  reference  to  the  nature  and  distribution  of 
the  questionaries  and  the  gathering  and  tabulating  of  the  material.  Requests 
for  information  may  be  addressed  to  the  chairman  or  to  any  member  of  the 
central  committee. 


Adelaide  S.  Baylor, 

Department  of  Public  Instruction, 

Indianapolis,  Indiana. 
F.  S.  Camp, 

William  St.  School, 

Stamford,  Conn. 
Superintendent  M.  G.  Clarke, 

Sioux  City,  Iowa. 
V.  C.  Coulter, 

State  Normal  School, 

Warrensburg,  Mo. 
I.  E.  Goldwasser, 

Public  School  62,  Intermediate, 

New  York,  N.  Y. 
F.  G.  Hubbard, 

University  of  Wisconsin. 
E.  L.  Miller, 

Central  High  School, 
Detroit,  Michigan. 


Lucy  B.  Moody, 

Allegheny  High  School, 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
A.  B.  Noble, 

Iowa  State  College. 
H.  G.  Paul, 

University  of  Illinois. 
Asst.  Supt.  E.  D.  Roberts, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Elisabeth  M.  Sherman 

Dewey  School, 

Oakland,  Cal. 
O.  B.  Sperlin, 

Tacoma  High  School, 

Tacoma,  Washington. 
J.  M.  Thomas, 

University  of  Minnesota. 
E.  M.  Hopkins,  Chairman, 

University  of  Kansas. 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT 

GENERAL  EXPLANATION 
Status  of  Committee. 

In  December,  1909,  at  a  meeting  of  the  English  section  of  the  Central  Di- 
vision of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  held  at  Iowa  City,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  section  upon 
the  conditions  of  English  composition  teaching  in  high  schools  and  in  college 
freshman  classes.  It  was  to  ascertain  if  possible  the  proper  amount  of  theme 
writing  to  be  required,  the  best  way  of  dealing  with  student  manuscript,  the 
necessary  time,  equipment,  and  number  of  teachers,  and  the  relation  of  these 
data  to  a  proper  standard  of  efficiency.  The  report  was  presented  at  the  St. 
Louis  meeting  of  the  Central  Division,  December  29,  1910,  adopted  by  the 
section,  and  recommended  for  publication.  The  committee  was  continued  to 
make  further  investigation,  especially  with  reference  to  the  comparative  cost 
of  the  teaching  of  English  and  of  other  secondary  school  subjects.  It  made 
a  report  of  progress  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  Modern  Language  Association, 
December  29,  1911. 
Method  of  Procedure. 

.  The  method  of  procedure  was  as  follows:  Circulars  embodying  an  extend- 
ed list  of  specific  questions  were  sent  to  all  the  colleges  in  the  United  States, 
and  to  ten  or  fifteen  of  the  leading  high  schools  in  each  state;  in  all  to  about 
eleven  hundred  schools  and  colleges.  Replies  were  received  from  not  quite 
twenty  per  cent  of  this  number,  about  evenly  divided  between  colleges  and 
high  schools,  and  representing  more  than  a  thousand  English  teachers.  The 
colleges  reporting  seem  completely  representative,  and  belong  to  33  states;  the 
high  schools  reporting  are  mostly  the  larger  schools,  and  represent  25  states. 
Schools  and  colleges  of  the  East  and  the  Central  West  are  most  largely  rep- 
resented, next  in  number  are  the  schools  of  the  farther  West,  and  least  in  number 
those  of  the  South. 
Number  of  Schools  and  English  Teachers. 

In  carrying  out  its  task,  the  committee  had  the  active  aid  of  many  friends 
besides  those  who  undertook  the  no  small  labor  of  replying  to  its  question- 
naire. Replies  were  received  from  96  colleges  of  345  English  teachers,  and 
from  93  high  schools  of  552  English  teachers.  Supplementary  high  school 
data  were  obtained  from  122  teachers  representing  about  30  schools.  The 
total  number  of  English  teachers  reporting  is  therefore  1019. 

On  receipt  of  replies,  the  answers  to  each  question  were  accurately  tabu- 
lated, and  verified  by  cross  reference  to  related  parts  of  the  circular.  For  all 
but  a  few  points  investigated,  the  questions  were  the  same  for  both  high  schools 
and  colleges;  and  the  answers  to  these  questions,  though  separately  tabulated, 
are  herein  presented  side  by  side:  afterwards  the  answers  to  questions  relating 
to  colleges  only.  Answers  to  questions  of  greater^importance  have  been  averaged 
by  the  number  of  teachers  reporting,  to  those  of  less  importance  by  the  number  of 
schools  reporting.  Some  answers  have  been  computed  by  both  methods,  and 
in  no  case  has  appeared  any  striking  discrepancy  between  the  two  sets  of  re- 
sults. 
Value  of  Results. 

From  the  first  publication  of  this  report  in  April  of  1911,  to  the  date  of  this 
edition  of  1912,  and  after  the  distribution  of  twelve  thousand  copies,  no  error 
in  it  has  been  indicated  save  that  which  was  anticipated:  that  it  understates 
existing  evils  and  the  resultant  lack  of  efficiency.  Intended  to  be  conservative 


in  statement,  the  committee  now  has  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  rather  too 
conservative,  but  that  it  is  otherwise  completely  accurate.  For  an  account  of 
work  done  since  April  1911,  and  a  tentative  statement  of  results  since  arrived  at, 
see  pages  13,  14  and  4. 

PRINCIPAL  DETAILS  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 
Is  theme- writing  necessary  in  English  composition  teaching? 

Evidently  if  this  fundamental  question  can  be  answered  in  the  negative,  this 
part  of  the  investigation  need  proceed  no  farther.  But  no  such  report  appears 
in  the  correspondence  of  the  committee;  the  vote  is  unanimous  that  oral  training 
alone  is  necessarily  insufficient:  and  the  average  of  opinions  is  that  half  the  work 
should  be  oral  and  half  written. 

If  theme-writing  is  necessary,  how  much  is  there  under  actual  conditions,  and 
how  much  should  there  be  under  ideal  conditions? 

The  amount  actually  written  under  present  conditions  averages  for  high  schools 
380  words  a  week  throughout  the  year,  and  for  colleges  630  words  a  week.  Ideal 
conditions  would  slightly  increase  these  averages  to  about  430  for  high  schools 
and  680  for  colleges,  and  would  make  possible  equal  attention  to  oral  and  to 
written  training. 

What  ought  to  be  done  with  this  amount  of  manuscript,  and  what  actually  is 
done  with  it? 

Various  individual  suggestions  in  answer  to  the  first  of  these  questions  are  dis- 
cussed on  page  9.  Some  of  these  are  more  commonly  offered  by  those  who  are  not 
themselves  teachers  of  English  composition.  The  opinion  of  such  teachers 
is  almost  unanimously  that  not  to  give  attention  to  all  the  work  that  a  pupil 
has  done  destroys  his  interest;  that  every  written  exercise  should  be  carefully 
read;  that  in  addition  to  such  discussion  as  is  possible  in  class  there  should  be 
individual  criticism  of  every  exercise,  either  in  writing,  or  orally  in  personal  con- 
ference with  the  individual  pupil;  that  about  one-third  of  the  exercises  need 
to  be  rewritten,  and  that  rewritten  exercises  should  be  re-examined. 

What  actually  is  done  with  manuscript  varies  with  conditions.  In  some 
colleges,  where  conditions  are  favorable,  it  is  all  read  orally  in  private  con- 
ferences with  individual  students;  a  method  satisfactory  but  requiring  rather 
more  time  than  does  written  criticism,  since  in  such  conferences  "a  student 
must  have  time  to  think,"  and  the  instructor  "must  have  time  to  get  the  stu- 
dent's point  of  view."  Some  instructors  take  whatever  time  is  necessary  to 
read  all  manuscript  up  to  40  hours  a  week  in  high  schools  and  50  in  colleges, 
supplementing  this  reading  with  class  discussion  and  with  whatever  of  private  con- 
ference is  practicable.  Other  instructors  read  but  part  of  their  manuscript, 
with  or  without  the  assistance  of  student  readers,  and  either  destroy  the  re- 
mainder or  return  it  credited  but  unread.  Others,  and  these  greatly  in  the 
majority,  endeavor  to  read  all  manuscript  but  with  extreme  haste  and  con- 
sequent "skimming"  and  "slighting."  Relatively  few  instructors  find  it  possible 
by  any  expenditure  of  time  and  vitality  to  give  proper  attention  even  to  half 
of  the  exercises  received. 
How  fast  can  themes  be  read? 

If  the  statements  thus  far  made  are  true,  this  question  and  the  next,  relating 
to  the  physical,  psychological,  and  optical  limits  of  an  instructor's  efficiency, 
are  peculiarly  vital.  The  simplest  and  yet  a  most  important  detail  is  the  rate 
at  which  themes  may  be  "carefully  criticised,"  orally  or  in  writing.  From 
the  inquiry  emerged  results,  averaged  from  the  reports  of  more  than  700  teachers, 
that  have,  it  is  believed,  something  of  the  certitude  of  a  life  insurance  table. 

Their  replies  averaged  show  that  under  present  conditions  of  forced   and 

6 


inefficient  effort,  the  average  reading  rate  for  high  school  instructors,  exclu- 
sive of  about  ten  per  cent  of  the  most  highly  skilled,  is  approximately  2,100 
words  an  hour,  or  including  all  instructors,  2,500  words.  For  college  instruct- 
ors, the  torced  rate  averages  2,600  words  for  all  instructors,  or  2,300  for  all 
but  the  raost  skilful.  But  if  thorough  work  is  to  be  done,  the  average  read- 
ing rate  hr  the  average  high  school  instructor  is  approximately  1,950  words 
an  hour,  tnd  for  the  college  instructor  2,200  words  an  hour.  For  rereading 
manuscript  that  has  been  revised  and  rewritten,  the  high  school  rate  is  60  per 
cent  faster  xhan  this,  and  the  college  rate  73  per  cent  faster.  If  oral  conference 
be  substituted  for  written  criticism,  the  high  school  data  show  a  rate  for  con- 
ference slightly  less  than  for  written  criticism;  the  college  data  a  rate  approxi- 
mately the  sime. 
For  how  man;  hours  a  day,  and  week,  can  themes  be  read? 

What  is  th}  duration  of  an  instructor's  efficiency  when  engaged  in  correct- 
ing and  criticising  manuscript?  Here  also  the  results,  based  on  the  reports 
of  600  teachers,  are  specific  and  presumably  accurate.  For  the  maximum  of  effi- 
ciency, implyiig  continued  maintenance  for  an  indefinitely  extended  period, 
the  limit  is  tw»  hours  a  day  (college  average  2.07  hours,  high  school  average 
2  hours.)  For  ?air  efficiency  for  a  limited  period  this  may  be  extended  to  three 
hours  (high  school  2.77,  colleges  3.045);  but  at  this  rate  the  physical  and  ner- 
vous system  begin  to  give  way,  on  the  average,  in  three  months,  and  full  efficiency 
is  at  an  end.  Bit  under  present  conditions  this  time  is  exceeded  in  all  schools. 
High  school  teackers,  with  a  teaching  schedule  of  from  five  to  seven  periods  a 
day  (usually  six  periods),  read  manuscript  for  an  average  of  sixteen  hours  a 
week,  and  are  then  obliged  to  stop,  leaving  a  considerable  part  of  it  unread. 
College  instructors,  with  fewer  teaching  hours,  read  manuscript  for  an  average 
of  20.6  hours  a  week.  In  high  schools,  392  out  of  499  teachers  find  it  impossible 
by  any  effort  to  read  all  manuscript  received.  Under  the  somewhat  more 
favorable  conditions  of  the  colleges,  39  colleges  of  111  teachers  find  it  impossible 
to  read  all  freshman  manuscript,  while  6  colleges  of  16  teachers  are  able  to  do 
so  in  the  specified  L,ime.  For  various  reasons  18  colleges  of  92  teachers  are  on 
the  right  side  of  tnt  average  and  have  no  serious  trouble. 
What  are  the  results  of  present  actual  conditions? 

The  reported  resilts  of  teaching  composition  under  these  conditions  are  as 
follows:  Scarcely  a  aandful  of  high  school  teachers  feel  that  they  have  a  reason- 
able chance  of  contnuing  in  their  work,  for  more  than  a  limited  period,  with- 
out the  sacrifice  of  health.  As  victims  of  "overstrain,"  they  "break  down," 
"collapse,"  "wear  out,"  are  "hopelessly  weary  and  discouraged,"  are  "com- 
pletely exhausted,"  propose  to  "give  up  English,"  suffer  from  "nerves,"  "ner- 
vous prostration,"  and  become  "physical  wrecks."  Of  the  colleges,  soma 
of  the  very  best  testify  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  retain  instructors  in  English 
composition  than  in  other  subjects.  Others  report  that  instructors  wear  out, 
suffer  from  indigest.on  and  nervous  exhaustion,  lose  their  efficiency,  impair 
their  eyesight,  becorae  the  prey  of  shattered  nerves,  break  down  and  find  their 
way  to  the  hospital  or  cemetery,  because  of  "killing"  work  in  English  com- 
position. These  statements  may  seem  extreme  to  others  than  composition 
teachers;  but  they  are  included  in  this  report  because  they  are  made  over  the 
signatures  of  men  aid  women  who  mean  exactly  what  they  say,  and  because 
the  members  of  this  committee  can  cite  parallel  instances  from  their  own  per- 
sonal knowledge. 
What  number  of  students  can  one  teacher  train  with  proper  efficiency? 

The  preceding  data  show  by  a  simple  computation  based  upon  the  stated 
averages,  what  are  the  average  conditions,  with  respect  to  number  of  pupils, 


of  proper  efficiency  in  composition  teaching — conditions  that  can  be  perma- 
nently maintained.  The  computation  is  this:  If  a  teacher  can  read  2,0(70  words 
an  hour  for  two  hours  a  day  for  five  days  a  week,  and  if  each  of  his  pupfls  writes 
400  words  a  week,  that  teacher  can  take  proper  care  of  50  pupils.  Similarly, 
if  a  teacher  can  read  2,200  words  an  hour  for  ten  hours  a  week,  and  his  pupils 
write  500  words  a  week  each,  that  teacher  can  train  36  pupils.  If  tne  teacher 
read  two  additional  hours  on  Saturday,  the  number  of  his  pupils  may  be  pro- 
portionately increased,  to  60  and  43  in  the  respective  instances,  For  such 
a  number  of  pupils  the  number  of  teaching  hours  is  obviously  a  negligible  factor 
in  the  problem. 

The  problem  must  be  worked  out  according  to  the  individual  data  in  each 
particular  case.  A  certain  class  may  be  at  a  200-word  stage  in  its  development; 
but  for  that  stage  the  theme-reading  rate  is  correspondingly  lefss.  To  more 
abundant  writing  usually  corresponds  a  more  rapid  reading,  apii  vice  versa. 
Independently  of  the  preceding  computation,  the  individual  statements  of  397 
high  school  teachers,  averaged,  make  81  pupils  the  upper  limit  o/  proper  assign- 
ment to  a  single  teacher;  and  similarly  265  college  teachers  average  61  as  the  cor- 
responding limit  for  college  freshmen.  In  particular  cases  this  /lumber  may  or 
may  not  be  too  great. 

If  fair  efficiency  for  a  limited  period  is  sought  for,  and  an  instructor  is  cap- 
able of  reading  at  a  2, 500- word  rate  for  15  hours  a  week,  theh  at  an  average 
of  400  words  a  student  that  instructor  may  care  for  94  stu/lents.  But  if  it 
happens  that  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  the  students  lad  each  to  write 
600  words  a  week,  then  the  high  pressure  number  for  that  instructor  is  62  stu- 
dents; and  according  to  preceding  data  the  instructor  can  ^ndure  that  pres- 
sure for  only  three  months,  two-thirds  of  a  semester.  In  anjl  instance  in  which 
proper  efficiency  is  the  end  in  view,  the  number  of  a  composition  teacher's  re- 
citation hours  is  a  relatively  unimportant  matter;  the  matter  of  supreme  im- 
portance is  the  number  of  pupils  assigned  him.  The  obvjbus  reason  is  that 
English  composition  is  as  much  a  laboratory  subject  as  is  anyteubject  of  scientific 
or  industrial  training,  without  however  requiring  expensive  material  equipment; 
and  with  a  proper  number  of  pupils,  the  chief  demand  on  the  teacher's  time 
is  that  of  supervising  laboratory  practice,  oral  or  written. 

How  far  is  the  proper  number  exceeded  under  present  condtions? 

As  to  the  actual  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  single  tesjchers  under  present 
conditions,  530  high  school  teachers  average  128.6  pupils  *ach;  the  maximum 
reported  is  250  pupils  to  a  teacher,  and  340  teachers  report  an  average  of  134 
pupils  each.  In  college  freshman  classes,  168  teachers  average  104.1  pupils 
each;  of  these  teachers  110  average  120  pupils  each,  and  tht  maximum  reported 
is  200  pupils. 

^  For  a  high  school  teacher  to  read  the  themes  of  a  <jlass  of  average  size 
writing  the  average  amount  weekly  requires  an  average  tifne  of  more  than  25 
hours  weekly.  For  a  college  teacher  under  the  same  coiditions  the  average 
time  required  is  more  than  30  hours  weekly. 

In  both  high  schools  and  colleges,  therefore,  the  number  of  pupils  assigned 
to*  a  single  teacher  is  more  than  two  and  one-half  times  tiie  average  of  proper 
efficiency  ,and  more  than  one  and  one-half  times  the  upper  limit  of  proper  efficiency. 
Similarly  the  time  required  is  more  than  two  and  one-half  times  the  limit  of 
physical  endurance  without  overstrain,  and  double  the  limit  of  temporary 
endurance  at  high  pressure.  It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  look  further  for  the 
causes  of  discouragement,  failure,  and  nervous  breakdown. 

What' else' is  essential  in  successful  work? 
Besides*' proper  limitation  of  the  number  of  pupils,  composition  teachers  re- 

8 


gard  as  other  essentials  for  successful  work  some  other  teaching  besides  com- 
position— literature  preferred,  recognition  and  respect  for  their  work  by  school 
authorities,  the  support  and  co-operation  of  other  teachers  and  of  school  officers 
and  administrators.  They  also  feel  that,  since  their  work  is  very  much  heavier 
than  that  of  other  instructors  (data  page  11),  they  should  at  least  have  equal 
pay;  whereas  in  more  than  20  per  cent  of  the  schools  reporting  their  pay  is  less. 
With  all  these  things  granted,  successful  teaching  further  requires  opportunity 
for  personal  work  with  individual  pupils,  and  observance  of  the  physical 
limitations  of  time  and  strength.  Without  observance  of  these  limitations 
the  average  teacher  must  be  content  to  do  inferior  work,  or  else  must  maintain 
a  high  standard  for  a  time  at  the  sacrifice  of  health  and  future  usefulness. 

FURTHER  DETAILS  AS  TO  ACTUAL  CONDITIONS. 
While  the  preceding  questions  are  the     principal  ones  that  the  committee 
set  itself  to  investigate,  many  others  were  included  for  the  sake  of  greater  com- 
pleteness of  detail,  and  additional  matter  of  importance  developed  as  the  work 
went  on.     From  this  point  on,  the  replies  to  the   remaining    questions   of    the 
circular  of  inquiry  will  be  presented  in  summary. 
What  is  done  with  excess  manuscript    that  cannot  be  read? 
Answers: — Skim  it  mostly;  33  high  schools,  19  colleges. 
Credit  it  unread;  10  high  schools,  9  colleges. 
Destroy  it;  19  high  schools,  3  colleges. 
Some  high  schools  use  it  in  general  class  discussion. 
Some  colleges  turn  it  over  to  "readers;"  cheap  help  employed  by 
the  college,  or  by  the  instructor  at  his  own  cost  (see  data  page 
11  following.) 
On  what  is  the  stress  placed  in  criticising  manuscript? 

Answers,  in  summary: — In  all  schools  the  stress  is  placed  heavily  on  spell- 
ing, punctuation,  and  sentence  form;  more  lightly  on  paragraphing;  more  lightly 
still  on  general  structure;  least  on  artistic  qualities  and  almost  as  little  on    per- 
sonal qualities,  though  here  the  colleges  do  a  little  better  than  the  high  schools. 
What  is  your  estimate  of  a  year's  work  in  theme  reading,  and  in  writing  cor- 
rections and  criticisms,  for  a  single  instructor? 
Answers. — Theme  reading  average  of  high  school  instructors,  1,570,000  words 

a  year. 

Theme  reading  of  college  instructors,  1,568,000  words  a  year. 
Writing  average  of  high  school  instructors,  133,000  words. 
Writing  average  of  college  instructors,  100,350  words. 
Is  the  work  of  composition  teaching  unduly  or  unfairly  burdensome? 
Answer. — Yes,  594  teachers;   colleges  193,  high  schools  401. 

No,  147  teachers;   colleges  90,  high  schools  47. 
Can  you  obtain  satisfactory  results? 

Answers: — No,  432  teachers;   colleges  153,  high  schools  279. 

Yes,  267  teachers;   colleges  116,  high  schools  151. 

Almost  all  affirmative  answers  are  qualified  with  the  statement  that  the  work 
done  is  "as  satisfactory    as  could  be  expected    under  the  circumstances,"  and 
are  therefore  in  effect  negative. 
If  results  are  not  satisfactory,  why  not? 

High  school  answers: — Because  of  overwork,  large  classes,  lack  of  time  and 
strength  for  necessary  theme  reading. 

College  answers: — The  same  reasons;   and  in  addition,  lack  of  preparation  of 

9 


students,  lax  ideals  and  lack  of  respect  for  English  in  the  college  itself,  lack  of 
opportunity  for  conferences  with  students,  lack  of  co-operation  by  other  in- 
structors, and  careless  or  inconvincible  attitude  of  authorities. 
What  are  the  proper  conditions  for  efficient  and  successful  work? 

Answers  in  round  numbers,  including  some  points  already  stated: — Number 
of  pupils  to  a  teacher  in  high  schools  not  to  exceed  80,  in  colleges  60.  Number 
in  a  section,  20.  Number  of  recitations  weekly,  3  or  4  for  each  section.  Pro- 
portion of  oral  to  written  exercises.  50  per  cent  each.  Average  number  of 
written  words  weekly  from  each  student,  high  schools  400  to  450;  colleges  650 
to  700.  All  to  be  criticised  with  the  utmost  thoroughness,  either  orally  or  in 
writing;  if  the  latter,  50  to  75  per  cent  of  the  criticisms  to  be  fully  written,  the 
rest  indicated  with  symbols.  About  30  per  cent  of  the  exercises,  the  most  de- 
fective, to  be  rewritten  and  reread,  carefully  with  the  pupil  or  hastily  for  veri- 
fication, according  to  circumstances.  Individual  consultations,  by  testimony  of 
all  but  three  schools,  should  be  held  at  least  as  often  as  every  two  or  three  weeks 
with  pupils  that  need  them,  and  average  15  minutes  in  length  (range  from  one 
minute  to  one  hour).  For  such  consultations,  in  addition  to  the  time  specified 
for  theme  reading,  a  high  school  instructor  should  have  5  hours  weekly  and 
a  college  instructor  6  or  7;  all  provided  and  allowed  for  in  the  teaching  schedule, 
but  the  proportion  of  consultation  to  reading  time  to  be  governed  by  circumstances 
such  as  the  needs  of  individual  pupils. 

Should  a  composition  teacher  teach  composition  exclusively? 

Answers: — No;   71  high  schools  and  51  colleges. 
Yes;   5  high  schools  and  10  colleges. 
It  depends;  2  colleges. 

What  allowance  if  any  is  made  in  your  school  for  manuscript  reading  and  con- 
ference? 

Answers: — In  43  high  schools  out  of  68,  and  31  colleges  out  of  44  reporting 
on  this  point,  none  at  all.  That  is,  in  about  70  per  cent  of  the  schools  reporting, 
such  labor  is  in  addition  to  a  full  assignment  of  class-room  duty  and  is  not  counted 
or  recognized  in  any  way  whatever.  This  is  the  labor  which,  as  shown  by  pre- 
ceding data,  averages  from  16  to  20  hours  a  week  for  all  composition  instructors, 
often  extending  to  40  or  even  50  hours,  which  is  essential  to  efficient  teaching, 
and  in  excess  of  10  hours  a  week  of  reading  and  5  of  conference  is  insupportable 
for  more  than  a  limited  period. 

If  allowance  is  made  for  theme  reading,  what  is  that  allowance? 

Answers: — In  the  high  schools  in  which  any  allowance  is  made  for  theme 
reading,  the  average  allowance  is  one  period  a  day  or  five  periods  a  week,  counted 
as  teaching  time.  This  is  an  allowance  of  less  than  five  hours,  while  the  work 
to  be  done,  as  shown  by  preceding  data,  actually  consumes  16  hours  on  the  average, 
and  would  require  more  than  25  hours,  under  average  conditions,  if  it  were  fully 
performed.  In  colleges,  the  average  allowance  made  for  theme  reading  and 
conference  is  to  count  3  hours  of  such  work  equivalent  to  1  hour  of  teaching. 

Is  the  allowance,  if  any,  a  fair  one;  and  if  not,  what  would  be  fair? 

Answers: — The  average  allowance  stated  is  not  fair,  because  entirely  in- 
sufficient for  the  work  to  be  done,  and  because  the  mental  and  physical  strain 
of  theme  reading  in  excess  seems  greater  than  that  of  teaching.  According  to 
the  average  of  165  high  school  teachers  reporting,  a  fair  allowance  for  theme 
reading  in  high  school  would  be  two  periods  a  day  deducted  from  teaching, 
with  corresponding  essential  reduction  in  size  of  classes;  and  according  to  the 
average  reports  of  97  college  instructors,  1.67  hours  of  reading  and  conference 

10 


should  be  counted  equivalent  to  one  hour  of  teaching.  (In  applying  these  sug- 
gestions, it  is  of  course  necessary  to  recall  that  but  a  limited  number  of  hours 
a  day  can  be  efficiently  spent  in  theme  reading.) 

How  does  the  labor  of  composition  teachers  compare  with  that  of  teachers  of 
other  subjects? 

Answers: — It  is  always  much  heavier,  sometimes  incredibly  heavier,  often 
extending  to  more  than  three  times  the  hours  of  absolutely  necessary  duty, 
even  when  teaching  hours  are  fewer,  and  not  counting  for  either  subject  the 
time  for  preparation  of  lessons.  Most  of  the  answers  to  this  question  were  in 
general  terms,  but  the  average  of  the  specific  answers  makes  the  proportion  of 
English  composition  labor  to  that  of  other  instructors,  with  the  occasional  ex- 
ception of  science,  1.75  to  1.  (See  supplementary  report,  page  16.) 
What  as  to  status  and  pay  of  English  composition  teachers? 

Answers: — A  large  proportion  of  the  composition  teachers  reporting  are  dis- 
satisfied and  decline  to  regard  their  profession  as  a  permanent  one.  In  all, 
105  college  teachers  and  220  high  school  teachers  frankly  confess  discourage- 
ment; while,  usually  in  larger  schools,  124  college  teachers  and  207  high  school 
teachers  express  intention  to  remain  in  their  work,  with  such  qualifications 
as  the  following;  "I  have  a  better  place  in  view;"  "My  classes  happen  to  be 
small;"  "I  refuse  to  overwork,  slighting  my  duties  if  necessary;"  "I  like  my 
work,  even  if  it  is  hard;"  "I  have  been  trained  for  this  work  and  can  do  nothing 
else,  hence  am  helpless  to  change;"  "The  work  has  compensations;"  "We 
hope  for  better  things."  The  more  cheerful  replies  usually  come  from  teachers 
who  are  by  good  fortune  well  on  the  right  side  of  the  average  of  present  con- 
ditions. Finally,  in  13  colleges  out  of  58  and  17  high  schools  out  of  82,  Eng- 
lish teachers  are  paid  less  than  other  teachers,  in  no  case  more;  and  in  some 
schools  it  is  explained  that  English  teachers  are  as  a  class  regarded  as  inferior 
to  others. 


DETAILS  RELATING  TO  COLLEGES  ONLY. 
What  class  of  instructors  should  teach  freshmen? 

Answers: — Best  instructors  in  the  department,  41  colleges. 
All  the  instructors  in  department,  5  colleges. 
The  best  young  men,  2  colleges. 
The  best  young  men  under  senior  direction,  2  colleges. 
Instructors  who  are  "interested,"  1  college. 
It  depends  on  circumstances,  1  college. 

As  to  actual  conditions,  in  43  colleges  freshman  composition  is  taught  by  1 
dean,  3  department  heads,  29  professors,  6  associate  professors,  30  assistant 
professors,  26  instructors,  and  2  tutors.     In  6  colleges,  all  English  instructors 
teach  freshman  composition. 
Is  it  well  to  employ  "manuscript 'readers"  or  "cheap  help?" 

Answers: — 49  colleges  of  179  teachers  think  it  well  to  employ  them. 

19  colleges  of  86  teachers  prefer  to  leave  themes  unread. 

As  to  actual  conditions,  36  colleges,  144  teachers,  employ  manuscript  read- 
ers, while  17  colleges,  77  teachers,  instead  of  doing  so  leave  part  of  the  work 
undone.     15  colleges,  48  teachers,  manage  to  do  it  all  without  cheap  help,  usually 
by  overworking  the  regular  instructors. 
What  is  the  degree  of  efficiency  of  manuscript  readers  when  employed? 

Answers: — About  25  per  cent  show  little  efficiency,  50  per  cent  fair,  and  25 
per  cent  high.  11  colleges  of  58  teachers  have  found  readers  that  are  com- 
pletely satisfactory;  23  colleges  of  96  teachers  have  failed  to  do  so. 

11 


What  are  they  paid,  and  how  much  are  they  worth? 

Answers: — 6  schools  pay  them  by  tuition,  11  by  salary;  in  9  they  are  em- 
ployed at  the  expense  of  individual  instructors.  Pay  by  the  hour  ranges  from 
15  cents  to  $1,  averaging  about  32  cents;  pay  by  salary  ranges  from  $30  to 
$300  a  year,  averaging  about  $150.  In  the  opinion  of  23  schools  of  93  teachers, 
such  readers  are  worth  what  they  cost;  7  schools  of  18  teachers  think  not.  The 
reports  seem  to  show  on  the  whole  that  "cheap  help"  is  not  necessarily  worth- 
less because  it  is  cheap;  that  on  the  average  it  is  preferable  to  employ  such  help 
rather  than  to  leave  work  undone;  that  in  proportion  to  their  pay  and  their  pre- 
paration and  the  care  exercised  in  selecting  them,  manuscript  readers  are  as  use- 
ful in  their  place  as  are  other  instructors;  but  that  to  substitute  a  cheaper  for  a 
higher  grade  of  instruction  is  undesirable. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  REPORT 

SUMMARY. 

The  present  inquiry  concerned  itself  with  two  principal  questions  only,  and 
the  results  arrived  at  are  in  substance  as  follows: 

1.  In  secondary  schools,    English  costs    less  than    any  other    subject  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  pupils  taking  it;  and  the  unit  teaching  cost  of 
one  pupil  for  one  year  is  almost  exactly  seven  dollars. 

2.  The  average    number    of    pupils  assigned  to    an  English    teacher  is 
greater  than    in  any  other    subject;    mathematics  and    history  approaching 
English  most  nearly. 

3.  In  proportion  to  the  number  of  teachers,  the  labor  of  teaching  Eng- 
lish in  secondary  schools  is  greater  than  that  of     any  other    subject,  even 
when  high  efficiency  is  necessarily  sacrificed  in  order  to  lessen  that  labor. 


12 


Council  of  ®eacljer«  of  Cnglistj 


REMOVING  AN  INCUBUS 

At  the  third  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Council  of  Teachers  of  Eng- 
lish, which  was  held  in  Chicago,  November  27  to  29,  a  series  of  resolutions 
offered  by  Professor  Edwin  M.  Hopkins  of  the  University  of  Kansas  was 
unanimously  adopted.  Professor  Hopkins,  who  has  been  for  some  years  chair- 
man of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  Modern  Language  Association  and  the 
National  Council  on  the  Labor  and  Cost  of  English  Teaching,  stated  that 
investigations  of  the  Committee  show  beyond  any  doubt  that  satisfactory  work 
in  the  teaching  of  English  composition  cannot  be  done  so  long  as  secondary 
schools  and  colleges  assign  too  many  pupils  to  the  teacher.  The  average  at 
present  is  over  125  in  secondary  schools  and  over  100  in  colleges.  The  number 
could  be  considerably  reduced  without  raising  the  cost  of  English  teaching  to 
the  level  of  most  of  the  other  subjects. 

The  resolutions,  which  were  passed  without  a  dissenting  voice,  are  as 
follows: 

I 

The  National  Council  of  Teachers  of  English  approves  the  steps  taken 
by  the  North  Central  Association  to  limit  and  decrease  the  number  of 
pupils  assigned  to  English  teachers  in  high  schools,  and  requests  the  Associa- 
tion and  all  similar  accrediting  bodies  to  recommend  for  immediate  action 
that  schools  in  which  the  maximum  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  a  single 
English  teacher  exceeds  100  be  not  accredited  in  English;  and  it  also  re- 
quests the  Association  and  all  similar  accrediting  bodies  to  take  further 
action  at  as  early  a  date  as  seems  expedient  to  reduce  this  maximum  to 
80,  with  due  provision,  as  at  present  recommended,  for  necessary  time  for 
conference  and  theme  reading  counted  as  teaching  time. 

II 

It  is  the  sense  of  the  National  Council  of  Teachers  of  English  that  in 
order  to  secure  satisfactory  results  in  college  English  it  is  essential  that  the 
maximum  number  of  students  in  Freshman  English  Composition  assigned 
to  a  single  instructor  should  in  no  case  exceed  60;  and  that  when  such  an  in- 
structor has  classes  in  other  subjects,  a  ^  corresponding  reduction  should  be 
made  in  the  number  of  pupils  assigned  him  in  English  composition. 

In  support  of  these  resolutions  Professor  Hopkins  said  that  the  North 
Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools  has  under  consideration 
the  adoption  of  a  rule  that  no  school  in  its  territory  shall  be  accredited  in  Eng- 
lish if  the  maximum  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  a  single  teacher  of  English 
exceeds  five  classes  of  25  pupils  each.  The  teachers'  associations  in  two  states, 
New  York  and  Wisconsin,  have  recently  requested  that  such  a  maximum  shall 
not  exceed  100. 

Over  25,000  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Hopkins  Committee  have  been  dis- 
tributed, and  the  Bureau  of  Education  is  about  to  issue  a  bulletin  setting  forth 
the  facts.  Nothing  has  given  so  much  encouragement  to  those  who  are  aware 
of  the  real  situation  as  the  warm  response  which  has  been  made  to  the  appeal 
which  this  report  embodies. 

Those  who  wish  further  information  concerning  the  work  of  this  committee 
should  communicate  with  Professor  E.  M.  Hopkins,  University  of  Kansas, 
Lawrence,  Kansas. 


What  are  they  paid,  and  how  much  are  they  worth? 

Answers: — 6  schools  pay  them  by  tuition,  11  by  salary;  in  9  they  are  em- 
ployed at  the  expense  of  individual  instructors.  Pay  by  the  hour  ranges  from 
15  cents  to  $1,  averaging  about  32  cents;  pay  by  salary  ranges  from  $30  to 
$300  a  year,  averaging  about  $150.  In  the  opinion  of  23  schools  of  93  teachers, 
such  readers  are  worth  what  they  cost;  7  schools  of  18  teachers  think  not.  The 
reports  seem  to  show  on  the  whole  that  "cheap  help"  is  not  necessarily  worth- 
less because  it  is  cheap;  that  on  the  average  it  is  preferable  to  employ  such  help 
rather  than  to  leave  work  undone;  that  in  proportion  to  their  pay  and  their  pre- 
paration and  the  care  exercised  in  selecting  them,  manuscript  readers  are  as  use- 
ful in  their  place  as  are  other  instructors;  but  that  to  substitute  a  cheaper  for  a 
higher  grade  of  instruction  is  undesirable. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  REPORT 

SUMMARY. 

The  present  inquiry  concerned  itself  with  two  principal  questions  only,  and 
the  results  arrived  at  are  in  substance  as  follows: 

1.  In  secondary  schools,    English  costs    less  than    any  other    subject  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  pupils  taking  it;  and  the  unit  teaching  cost  of 
one  pupil  for  one  year  is  almost  exactly  seven  dollars. 

2.  The  average    number    of    pupils  assigned  to    an  English    teacher  is 
greater  than    in  any  other    subject;    mathematics  and    history  approaching 
English  most  nearly. 

3.  In  proportion  to  the  number  of  teachers,  the  labor  of  teaching  Eng- 
lish in  secondary  schools  is  greater  than  that  of     any  other    subject,  even 
when  high  efficiency  is  necessarily  sacrificed  in  order  to  lessen  that  labor. 


12 


INFORMATION  OBTAINED  AFTER  THE  PUBLICATION  OF  THE 
PRELIMINARY  REPORT. 

General  details  of  action  taken. 

From  April  1911  to  November  1911  were  published  and  distributed  eight 
editions  numbering  twelve  thousand  copies  of  the  preliminary  report 
of  the  committee,  with  the  general  request  that  readers  would  furnish  the 
committee  further  information  in  corroboration  or  correction  of  the  state- 
ments of  the  report,  and  answer  two  additional  questions,  relating  to  the 
comparative  cost  and  comparative  labor  of  teaching  English  and  other  sub- 
jects. Replies  were  comparatively  few,  and  gave  corroboration  rather  than 
additional  information.  Results  were  compiled  from  these,  from  material 
furnished  by  teachers'  organizations  and  from  the  school  reports  of  several 
states,  but  were  still  insufficient  to  justify  the  presentation  of  a  final  re- 
port. An  investigator  of  the  cost  of  equipment  of  English  and  other  teach- 
ing, Professor  V.  C.  Coulter,  was  invited  to  act  with  the  original  committee, 
and  the  work  of  the  body  thus  enlarged  was  endorsed  by  the  National  Coun- 
cil of  Teachers  of  English  at  its  Chicago  meeting,  December  1,  1911.  A  re- 
port of  progress  was  made  at  the  Chicago  meeting  of  the  Modern  Language 
Association,  December  29,  1911,  which  also  adopted  resolutions  of  endorse- 
ment, and  assumed  all  the  expenses  incurred  by  the  committee  to  that  date. 
Further  endorsements  have  since  been  given  by  the  English  Section  of 
the  Schoolmasters'  Club  of  Michigan,  March  29,  1912,  the  N.  E.  A.  depart- 
ments of  Higher  Education,  Normal  Schools,  and  Secondary  Education,  July 
11,  1912,  and  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  N.  E.  A.,  October  23,  1912;  and 
each  endorsement  recommends  the  completed  report  to  the  attention  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education  with  reference  to  possible  final  publica- 
tion and  general  distribution. 

To  secure  more  adequate  data  for  its  final  report,  the  committee  prepared 
another  specific  questionnaire  on  the  comparative  cost  and  comparative  labor 
of  English  and  other  teaching,  and  on  the  comparative  cost  of  teaching 
equipment  for  English  and  other  subjects.  Copies  of  this  were  sent  out  as 
an  insert  in  the  first  number  of  the  English  Journal,  published  January  15, 
1912;  and  additional  copies  were  distributed  to  representative  high  schools 
in  each  state  through  the  courtesy  of  state  superintendents  and  of  high 
school  inspectors.  A  summary  of  results  was  presented  to  the  National 
Council  of  Teachers  of  English  at  Chicago,  November  30,  1912,  and  to  the 
English  Section  of  the  Modern  Language  Association  at  Indianapolis, 
December  27,  1912. 

At  the  last  named  meeting,  the  committee,  which  for  one  year  had  been 
acting  jointly  for  the  Council  and  the  Association,  was  continued  with  the 
request  that  it  gather  further  data  relating  to  the  comparative  cost  *f 
teaching  English  and  other  subjects  in  colleges,  and  in  other  matters  place 
itself  under  the  authority  of  the  Council  or  its  Executive  Committee.  In 
response  to  this  request,  the  committee  immediately  sent  out  one  hundred 
letters  to  representative  colleges,  asking  for  the  data  above  named;  and  re- 
ported to  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Council  for  further  instructions. 
That  Committee  recommended  that  the  membership  of  the  English  Commit- 

13 


tee  be  increased,  and  that  its  work  be  extended  to  include  the  study  of  the 
conditions  and  the  teaching  efficiency  of  the  lower  schools. 

In  June,  1913,  the  Bureau  of  Education  approved  the  report  and  the  fur- 
ther plans  of  the  committee,  appointed  its  chairman  a  special  collaborator, 
and  authorized  the  proposed  extension  of  the  work  with  a  view  to  the  ulti- 
mate publication  of  results  as  a  Bureau  bulletin  or  series  of  bulletins,  the 
first  of  which  may  be  ready  in  the  fall  of  1914.  See  page  4. 

For  the  present  report,  the  chairman  has  prepared  the  tabulations  relating 
to  relative  teaching  cost  and  labor  of  various  subjects,  and  Professor  V.  C. 
Coulter  those  relating  to  equipment  cost;  each  with  such  assistance  as  was 
available. 

Number  and  distribution  of  replies  received. 

To  the  general  questions  of  the  preliminary  report,  of  which  15,000  copies 
in  all  were  distributed,  only  about  forty  replies  were  received,  and  these 
chiefly  from  one  state,  in  which  the  report  was  followed  with  special  let- 
ters to  certain  schools.  To  the  special  questionnaire  later  prepared,  of 
which  more  than  3,000  copies  were  sent  out,  were  received  130  replies,  and 
as  these  were  especially  complete  and  detailed,  they  constitute  the  principal 
basis  of  the  results  herein  stated.  Besides  these,  in  two  states  special  state 
investigations  were  made,  in  one  instance  including  91  'schools  and  in  the 
other  74,  and  these  have  been  used  for  correction  and  confirmation  wherever 
possible.  While  above  330  schools  in  all  have  been  heard  from,  many  re- 
plies have  been  so  incomplete  or  so  obviously  erroneous  that  the  conclu- 
sions of  the  report  for  the  most  part  rest  upon  a  much  smaller  number, 
indicated  in  connection  with  each  point  presented.  As  to  size,  187  schools 
average  10.85  teachers  each;  an  average  that  is  probably  a  little  too  high 
for  the  entire  330. 

In  the  distribution  of  the  replies,  24  states  were  represented,  chiefly  those 
of  the  Middle  West.  From  the  Eastern  states  and  as  far  south  as  Mary- 
land there  is  a  fairly  strong  showing.  Outside  of  the  general  territory  thus 
indicated  replies  are  comparatively  few  and  scattering. 

The  teaching  cost  of  high  school  subjects. 

The  data  in  hand  are  somewhat  more  conclusive  as  to  the  relative  than 
the  absolute  teaching  cost  of  secondary  school  subjects;  but  almost  every 
report  received  includes  a  statement  as  to  the  cost  of  English  teaching, 
even  when  the  size  of  the  school  is  not  indicated.  It  is  believed  therefore 
that  the  stated  average  cost  of  teaching  English  to  one  pupil  for  one  year, 
based  upon  about  250  reports  from  schools  of  all  sizes  but  fairly  representa- 
tive of  the  proportions  generally  obtaining,  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  in- 
dicating the  unit  cost  for  the  entire  country.  For  all  the  schools  reporting, 
the  average  is  just  above  seven  dollars;  with  the  omission  of  a  very  small 
percentage  of  extreme  cases  it  is  just  below  seven  dollars;  hence  seven  dol- 
lars seems  to  be  the  mean  or  limit,  toward  which  all  reports  have  tended 
from  the  beginning.  Figures  for  other  subjects  are  usually  and  necessarily 
based  upon  a  much  smaller  number  of  reports  than  are  those  for  English. 

The  data  in  this  table  to  some  extent  overlap  those  of  Professor  Coulter, 
and  include  certain  reports  which  he  has  not  as  yet  had  opportunity  to  pass 
upon;  but  the  results  are  in  such  substantial  agreement  that  both  tables  are 
printed,  till  such  time  ais  they  can  be  averaged  together. 

14 


Subject  Number  of  10110018                   Average  annual 

included  in  estimate        teaching  cost,  each  pupil. 

English  235  $7.05 

Latin  191  9.49 

German  156  10.02 

Mathematics  188  8.08 

History  182  8.03 

Physios  153  13.71 

Chemistry  108  17.20 

Botany  146  8.56 

Domestic  Science  75  9.50 

Manual  Training  89  15.19 

Commercial  116  10.74 

Preceding  scientific  subjects  combined     167  11.74 

Preceding  vocational  subjects  combined  128  11.98 

Average  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  a  teacher  in  each  subject. 

In  the  preliminary  report  of  this  committee,  the  average  number  of  pupils 
for  each  of  more  than  a  thousand  English  teachers  was  found  to  be  128.6. 
Later  and  entirely  independent  data  from  500  additional  teachers  give  an 
average  of  122.  The  average  of  all  the  data  in  the  committee's  hands,  from 
between  1500  and  2000  English  teachers,  shows  126.4  pupils  for  each 
teacher.  The  relative  number  for  other  subjects,  based  on  the  most  recently 
received  reports,  is  here  shown. 


Subject 

Number  of 

Average  number 

Average  number 

Schools 

of  teachers  in 

of  pupils  for 

reporting 

each  school 

one  teacher. 

English 

228 

2.00 

122 

Latin 

207 

X.09 

82 

German 

154 

.96 

90 

Mathematics 

186 

1.81 

110 

History 

193 

1.15 

107 

Physics 

159 

54 

72 

Chemistry 

114 

.49 

63 

Botany 

143 

.49 

84 

Domestic   Science 

76 

t.09 

85 

Manual  Training 

89 

1.32 

74 

Commercial 

116 

L37 

96 

Total  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  each    subject,  stated  relatively,  in  per- 
centages. 

Under  this  head,  the  committee  has  endeavored  merely  to  discover  the  general 
relations  as  indicated  in  a  few  state  reports,  in  order  that  it  might  form  an  inci- 
dental and  conjectural  opinion  as  to  the  probable  relative  total  teaching  cost 
of  each  secondary  school  subject.  The  few  reports  examined  were  found  to  be 
not  far  apart  with  respect  to  the  relative  school  attendance  in  each  subject; 
and  the  proportions  thus  ascertained  were  as  follows:  If  English  be  called  the 
unit  or  100  per  cent,  that  of  Latin  is  about  49,  German  26,  Mathematics  80, 
History  57,  Science  (all  subjects)  about  58. 

15 


Relative  total  teaching  cost  of  each  subject,  in  percentages. 

If  the  preceding  statement  be  regarded  as  approximately  correct,  the 
total  teaching  cost  of  each  subject,  stated  in  relative  percentages,  is  as 
follows:  English  100,  Latin  65.66,  German  36.92,  Mathematics  91.2,  History 
64.41,  Science  96.28.  This  and  the  preceding  statement,  while  merely  illus- 
trative, are  probably  not  far  from  the  truth. 

Relative  annual  cost  of  English  and  Science  for  each  pupil,  including 
equipment;  and  relative  total  annual  cost  for  each  subject. 

The  average  annual  increase  in  equipment  for  each  pupil  in  English 
seems  to  lie  between  20  and  25  cents;  that  for  all  scientific  subjects  be- 
tween $1.50  and  $2.50.  Assuming  the  lowest  figures  for  each,  the  ratio  of 
annual  cost  of  English  for  each  pupil  is  to  the  corresponding  cost  for 
Science  as  100  to  182.6.  On  the  same  basis,  the  total  annual  budget  for 
English  in  one  year  would  be  to  the  Science  budget  as  100  to  105.9. 

All  figures  thus  far  presented  have  been  continually  revised  and  re-re- 
vised for  more  than  a  year,  as  additional  reports  have  been  received;  but 
while  the  figures  themselves  have  been  changed  at  each  revision,  none  of 
those  changes  has  modified  in  any  essential  particular  their  general  char- 
acter and  significance. 

Relative  labor  of  teaching  high  school  subjects. 

Under  this  head  a  large  proportion  of  the  reports  received  were  blank, 
and  only  a  few  were  complete  and  accurate  enough  to  be  of  service.  A  first 
rough  tabulation  indicated  that  English,  science,  and  history,  and  possibly 
German,  require  more  time  of  a  teacher  than  do  other  high  school  subjects; 
but  to  determine  the  relative  demand  of  these  and  other  subjects  proved 
difficult  because  of  the  insufficient  data,  especially  in  the  case  of  scientific 
and  vocational  subjects.  The  general  results  arrived  at,  while  in  them- 
selves inconclusive,  are  corroborated  in  some  particulars  by  those  of  the 
preliminary  report,  and  in  particular  in  showing  that  English  is  the  heaviest 
subject  of  all.  But  they  also  seem  to  indicate  that  English  teachers  under 
average  conditions  are  justly  declining  to  undertake  the  physical  impossi- 
bility of  maintaining  a  higher  standard  of  efficiency  under  those  conditions, 
and  are  simply  doing  "the  best  that  can  be  done  under  the  circumstances"; 
which  according  to  the  figures  below  means  about  two  hours  a  day  of  theme 
reading  and  one  of  consultation,  or  twenty-five  per  cent  more  than  is  re- 
quired for  similar  purposes  by  any  other  subject;  whereas  the  highest 
efficiency  might  require  one  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent  more,  as  shown  in 
the  preliminary  report. 

No.  Av.  No.  Teachers    Av.  No.  Classes   Av.  No.  Classes 

Subject  Schools  in  Each  in  Each           Each  Teacher 

English  54  2.49  12.83  5.15 

Latin  49  1.16  6.26  5.40 

German  40  1.02  5.59  5.45 

Mathematics  52  2.03  10.08  5.32 

History  46  1.29  7.11  5.51 

Physics  11  .39  1.9  4.87 

Chemistry  35  .62  2.28  3.67 

Botany  9  ".29  1.55  5.34 

Domestic  Science  6  .67  3.83  5.71 

Manual  Training  7  .67  4.00  5.97 

Commercial  28  2.31  12.83  5.15 

16 


Subject 

English 

Latin 

German 

Mathematics 

History 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Botany 

Domestic  Science 

Manual  Training 

Commercial 


Recitation  and 
Lab.  Pds.  W'kly 

26.46 

26.42 

26.68 

26.59 

26.34 

26.50 

25.45 

26.56 

25.32 

26.03 

26.9 


Assembly  and 
Consultation 

6.87 

5.9 

5.6 

6.59 

6.42 

5.60 

5.43 

5.00 

6.9 

5.06 

5.28 


Themes,  Exams.  & 
Reports  Hrs.  W'kly 

9.62 

5.8 

7.00 

5.22 

6.10 

6.00 

6.60 

7.14 

6.29 

3.62 

5.98 


Subject 

English 

Latin 

German 

Mathematics 

History 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Botany 

Domestic  Science 

Manual  Training 

Commercial 


Preparation  and  Other 

Necessary  Labor 

10.23 

7.98 

7.92 

6.18 
10.28 
10.57 
11.62 

9.62 

8.72 

9.33 

6.73 


Approx.  Total 
Hrs.  Weekly 
47.63 
40.16 
41'.20 
39.06 
43.68 
43.33 
43.96 
43.06 
41.86 
38.86 
38.85 


Total  Hrs.  not  Includ- 
ing Preparation 

37.40 
32.18 
33.28 
32.88 
33.40 
32.76 
32.34 
33.45 
33.14 
29.50 
32.12 


Relative  cost  of  teaching  college  subjects. 

This  part  of  the  investigation  was  not  begun  till  requested  at  the  Indiana- 
polls  meeting  of  December  27,  1912.  As  a  tentative  beginning  100  letters 
were  sent  out  January  30.  To  these  33  replies  have  been  received,  15  stat- 
ing that  the  desired  information  cannot  easily  be  given,  the  others  either 
sending  eome  part  of  it  or  promising  it  as  soon  as  possible.  While  the 
material  thus  far  received  is  entirely  insufficient  for  the  intended  purpose, 
the  individual  reports  are  so  interesting  that  a  digest  of  twelve  of  them 
is  subjoined.  These  reports  represent  colleges  of  all  sizes;  four  of  the  larg- 
est universities,  four  smaller  colleges,  and  four  of  intermediate  rank  and 
importance;  and  the  figures  in  each  instance  are  estimates  of  the  cost  of 
each  subject  for  each  student  taking  it  one  hour  a  week  for  a  semester.  It 
is  hoped  ultimately  to  determine  proportions  and  relative  percentages, 
rather  than  specific  units. 


17 


College  English  Math.  History  Latin  German  Physics        BoUny    Chem 

I  $2.60  $2.90  $2.89  $4.34  $2.70  $3.88         $6.16       $4.77 

II  1.29  .73  1.78  1.17  .42  .68           168 

HI  2.96  1.63  1.11  2.63  .88  10.18           5.71         446 

IV  .88  .67  .61  1.59  .75  4.67             .59         1.03 

V  1.48  .66  1.00  4.11  1.37  4.21                             90 

VI  23.80  3.56  7.80  4.46  20.82  3.00                           4.00 

VII  .40  .81  .71  1.14  1.16  6.58  1.81 

VIII  .96  6.29  1.42  25.13  2.64  8.98  12.87         3.92 
IX  .72  1.24  .72  5.12 

X  1.79  1.68  1.66  2.48  3.39 

XI  1.75  7.16  2.43  3.50  3.00  9.11 

XII  2.06  2.12  1.53  3.56  2.17  3.65  5.26 


Aver.  1.53          2.45         2.15  2.94  1.75  5.28  5.37         288 

3.39  5.16  3.49 

Figures  in  black  face  in  statements  VI  and  VIII  seem  abnormally  large 
in  comparison,  and  are  not  included  in  the  first  averages  given;  but  the  re- 
sult of  inclusion  is  shown  immediately  below.  If  those  figures  are  omitted, 
the  results  except  as  to  chemistry  correspond  in  a  general  way  to  those 
obtained  for  secondary  schools;  and  the  order  of  cost  is — English,  German, 
History,  Mathematics,  Chemistry,  Latin,  Physics,  and  Botany.  Four  of  these 
colleges,  Nos.  I,  VI,  VIII,  and  IX,  express  dissatisfaction  with  the  present 
status  and  results  of  their  English  work.  Three  colleges,  two  of  them  not 
included  in  the  preceding  list,  furnish  accurate  statements  of  the  cost  of 
Freshman  Rhetoric;  and  the  average  of  the  three  is  1.52.  The  most  ex- 
pensive subject  is  in  six  colleges  Physics,  in  two  Botany,  in  one  Chemistry, 
in  one  History,  and  in  one  each  Latin  and  English:  the  figures  in  the  last 
two  cases  being  questionable.  The  least  expensive  subject  is  in  four  colleges 
English  (the  same  as  History  in  one  case),  in  three  History,  in  two  German, 
and  in  one  each  Mathematics,  Botany,  Physics,  and  Chemistry.  These  re- 
sults are  here  presented  merely  because  of  their  incidental  interest,  and 
not  as  justifying  any  conclusions  whatever;  the  work  must  be  continued  and 
extended. 

Relative  equipment  cost  of  high  school  subjects.     (V.  C.  Coulter.) 

The  tables  and  charts  given  here  show  the  present  teaching  cost  and 
equipment  value  per  pupil  enrolled  in  each  of  the  subjects  usually  taught 
in  the  secondary  school.  Statistics  similar  to  these  have  been  compiled  for 
various  groups  of  schools  in  different  states  several  times  during  the  last 
five  years.  The  results  have  been  practically  uniform,  and  the  addition  of 
any  considerable  group  of  schools  has  made  little  difference  in  the  results. 
This  indicates  the  general  validity  of  the  figures  here  given.  The  reports 
upon  which  the  present  tabulations  have  been  based  have  come  in  during 
the  present  year,  and  none  of  the  older  figures  have  been  used. 

Table  I  shows  the  general  averages.  But  the  other  tables  are  more  sig- 
nificant since  they  show  something  of  the  distribution  of  teaching  cost  and 
equipment  value. 

Table  IV  indicates  what  the  reports  fully  prove,  that  there  is  no  uniform 
ratio  between  the  expenditures  for  the  various  subjects,  that  the  present 
situation  is  merely  the  result  of  the  whim  of  individual  school  officials. 

In  view  of  the  established  inadequacy  of  the  present  teaching  force  in 

18 


English,  and  the  almost  universal  lack  of  equipment,  it  is  pertinent  to  call 
attention  to  the  comparatively  small  amount  of  money  spent  for  that  sub- 
ject. Attention  may  also  be  called  to  the  small  number  of  schools  report- 
ing work  in  agriculture  and  physiology,  and  to  the  small  amount  of  money 
spent  for  the  latter  subject. 

The  present  persistent  demand  for  standardization  of  content,  of  methods 
and  of  grading,  seems  not  to  have  considered  the  condition  of  the  schools 
indicated  by  these  figures.  There  can  be  no  standardization  in  a  school  in 
which  one  department  is  100  per  cent  more  efficiently  equipped  and  manned 
than  another.  The  present  situation  calls  loudly  for  a  careful  statement  of 
curricula  content  values,  and  an  apportionment  of  money  among  the  var- 
ious elements  according  to  their  needs. 


TABLE  I. 


Subject 

English 

Latin 

German 

Mathematics 

History 

Physics 

Chemistry 

*Biology 

Phy.   Geo. 

Agriculture 

Physiology 

^Combined 

Dom.  Art  & 

Manual   Tr. 

Commercial 

Comb.  Voc.  Sub. 

French 


No.  Schools 

Teaching 

No.  Schools 

Reporting: 
Teaching  Cost 

Cost  per 
Pupil 

Reporting 
Equipment 

162 

$7.14 

112 

140 

8.11 

55 

115 

10.86 

53 

130 

8.28 

52 

124 

7.70 

79 

95 

12.59 

63 

84 

14.98 

58 

86 

9.17 

64 

29 

7.04 

15 

9 

15.40 

5 

12 

6.10 

6 

>nce    110 

10.75 

80 

ience  58 

7.95 

46 

68 

13.12 

48 

90 

10.22 

38 

i. 

10.37 

27 

9.84 

10 

Equip.  Value    Av.  Annual 

per  Equipment 

Pupil  Increase 


$2.76 

1.62 

1.28 

0.75 

2.06 

19.71 

23.49 

9.02 

8.66 

10.75 

4.02 

13.84 

10.24 

26.25 

4.45 

12.28 

1.75 


$0.21 
0.09 
0.12 
0.08 
0.18 
1.30 
1.44 
0.69 
0.56 
4.50 
0.23 
0.92 
0.46 
1.00 
0.33 
0.55 
0.06 
and 


*  Sometimes  reported  biology,   sometimes  botany,   sometimes  botany 
zoology. 

fThis  item  is  not  a  combination  of  the  science  subjects  above.  Many 
schools  reported  only  for  the  combined  sciences,  and  they  are  included  in 
these  averages. 

TABLE  II 

17          58          56          34          32          85          72  39          23          43          48 

Eng.  |  Lat.  |  Ger.  |  Math.  |  Hist.  |  Phy.  |  Chem.  |  Boit  |  D.S.  |  M.T.  J  Com.) 
92  48          45          75          73          23          13          52          23          17  25 

This  table  is  made  by  taking  the  approximate  median  of  the  teaching 
cost  per  pupil  for  all  subjects  as  given  in  Table  III,  and  showing  the  number 
of  schools  with  a  teaching  cost  above,  and  the  number  with  a  teaching  cost 
below.  That  is,  17  schools  have  a  teaching  cost  per  pupil  in  English  above 
the  general  median,  and  92  below. 


19 


TABLE  HI 

Distribution  of  annual  teaching  cost  per  pupil. 
Tch'g  Cost 
per  PupU        Eng.    Latin      Ger.    Math.    Hist.     Phys.    Chem,    Bot.      D.  S.    M.  T.  Com. 

4-5 
5-6 

6-7 
7-8 

8-9 
9-10 

10-11 

11-12 
12-13 
13-14 

14-15 

15-16 
16-17 
17-18 
18-19 
19-20 
20-21 
Over  $22 

Total          109      106      101      109      105      108        85        91        46        60        73 
This  table  shows  the  number  of  schools  reporting  teaching  cost  per  pupil 

in  the  various  subjects  from  $4  to  $22.    There  are  5  schools  with  a  cost  for 

English  of  less  than  $4,  15  with  a  cost  of  from  $4  to  $5,  etc. 

The  black  type  and  the  heavy  lines  in  the  various  columns  represent  the 

approximate  median  above  and  below  which  there  are  an  equal  number   of 

schools. 

TABLE  IV 

Distribution  of  equipment  value  per  pupil  in  English,  Physics,  and  Chem- 
istry. 

Equip.  Value  per  Pupil  Equip.  Value  per  Pupil  Equip.  Value  per  Pupil 

No.  Schools              in  English  in  Physics  in  Chemistry 

6                      $0.06  to  $0.68  $5.04  to  $61.54  $1.50  to  $20.00 

5                        1.01  to     1.45  10.72  to     62.10  1.37  to  190.45 

4  2.10  to     2.73  13.16  to     25.00  15.00  to     77.45 

5  3.00  to     3.60  5.00  to     66.66  5.90  to     64.71 
3                        4.63  to     8.00  23.42  to     85.00  13.84  to     55.00 

CONCLUSIONS    AND     FURTHER  QUESTIONS. 

While  the  object  of  the  committee  has  been  solely  to  ascertain  and  make 
public  certain  facts,  it  has  repeatedly  been  requested  to  make  those  facts 
the  basis  of  formal  recommendations,  and  in  particular  to  suggest  an  ideal 

20 


5 

4 

5 

3 

7 

•    UJB. 
1 

V>ilV-IJ 

1 

13 

3 

m.  i.    v. 

3 

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1 

15 

3 

6 

1 

9 

3 

1 

9 

3 

1 

22 

10 

9 

18 

17 

3 

7 

6 

3 

7 

25 

6 

8 

17 

16 

5 

3 

6 

3 

5 

2 

14 

10 

11 

18 

14 

1 

4 

11 

6 

7 

11 

15 

6 

18 

10 

10 

4 

T 

2 

5 

8 

7 

13 

12 

8 

11 

5 

4 

4 

1 

3 

4 

11 

8 

7 

10 

8 

5 

6 

"TT 

8 

11 

3 

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7 

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5 

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6 

4 

3 

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5 

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5 

2 

4 

8 

3 

8 

13 

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T" 

3 

1 

6 

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3 

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3 

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wm 

2 

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5 

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18 

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4 

2 

1 

4 

1 

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1 

2 

2 

6 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

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1 

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3 

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1 

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3 

3 

2 

16 

23 

2 

2 

9 

12 

reorganization  of  the  high  school  course  in  English.  Aa  such  a  reorganiza- 
tion must  affect  all  secondary  school  subjects  directly  or  indirectly,  and  be 
to  some  extent  dependent  on  individual  conditions,  it  presents  independent 
problems,  the  study  of  which  has  now  been  undertaken  by  a  special  com- 
mittee of  the  National  Education  Association  including  a  sub-committee  on 
English  under  the  chairmanship  of  the  secretary  of  the  National  Council 
of  Teachers  of  English.  But  though  every  question  answered  in  the  re- 
ports of  the  present  committee  suggests  many  others  that  require  further 
investigation,  the  work  has  led  to  a  number  of  conclusions  with  regard  to 
the  proper  organization  of  a  secondary  school  English  course;  and  a  brief 
summary  of  the  principal  findings  may  be  made  as  follows: 

First,  and  most  conclusively  established,  the  initial  step  toward  increas- 
ing the  efficiency  of  English  composition  teaching,  the  one  thing  that  is  es- 
sential in  all  cases,  whatever  else  may  prove  to  be  necessary,  is  to  reduce 
the  average  number  of  pupils  assigned  to  English  composition  teachers  in 
all  schools  to  a  proper  laboratory  standard.  The  reason  why  this  reduction 
is  the  initial  step  toward  higher  efficiency,  and  in  all  cases  the  essential 
step,  i*  because,  no  matter  how  favorable  other  conditions  may  be,  without 
this  reduction  high  efficiency  is  a  physical  impossibility.  The  general  aver- 
age and  the  upper  limit  of  that  standard  for  colleges  and  secondary  schools 
have  been  shown  in  the  committee's  report. 

Second,  the  cost  of  taking  this  step  will  not  be  prohibitive;  it  will  merely 
give  English  composition,  adjudged  the  most  important  of  all  laboratory 
subjects,  its  proper  place  among  such  subjects  in  the  school  budget,  as  any 
scientific  system  of  standardization  must  do.  Now  it  stands  at  the  very 
bottom,  worst  paid  and  worst  equipped  of  all  if  not  the  last  considered, 
relegated  to  the  company  of  text-book  subjects  and  without  financial  honor 
even  among  them.  Full  recognition  will  not  make  it  the  most  expensive 
subject,  because  it  requires,  not  elaborate  buildings  and  apparatus,  but 
merely  an  adequate  supply  of  books  and  teachers,  with  simple  illustrative 
material. 

Third,  after  this  step  is  taken,  others  may  then  prove  to  be  necessary  in 
some  cases:  such  as  (a)  the  standardizing  of  the  preparation  and  the 
skill  of  English  teachers;  (b)  the  determining  of  the  relative  efficiency  of 
various  methods  under  varying  conditions,  as  for  instance  of  oral  and  writ- 
ten training;  (c)  the  establishing  of  the  definite  and  required  cooperation 
of  other  teachers  with  English  teachers;  and  (d)  the  coordinating  of  the 
English  work  of  all  schools  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  But  with  the 
present  average  assignment  of  pupils,  it  is  established  that  the  best  teacher 
using  the  best  methods  cannot  secure  high  efficiency,  except  by  overwork 
with  its  inevitable  results,  and  even  thus  for  a  limited  period  only.  It  may 
for  emphasis  be  repeated  that  the  thing  that  chiefly  matters  in  the  teaching 
of  English  composition  is  not  the  number  or  the  size  of  individual  classes, 
but  as  in  any  other  laboratory  subject,  the  total  number  of  students  assigned 
to  a  teacher;  though  incidentally  within  certain  limits  smaller  classes  are 
preferable  to  larger  ones,  even  for  efficient  teachers. 

In  the  progress  of  the  investigation,  further  details  appear  to  be  sanc- 
tioned by  the  opinions  of  a  majority  of  teachers  reporting.  For  instance, 
in  secondary  schools  English  schedule  time  should  be  about  equally  divided 
between  literature  and  composition,  both  subjects  preferably  taught  by  the 
same  teacher  to  the  same  pupils.  A  prevailing  practice  is  to  give  composi- 

21 


tion  two  days  a  week  and  literature  three;  but  exceptions  are  numerous. 
Laboratory  practice  it  is  said  should  be  about  e'qually  divided  between  oral 
and  written  work;  not  necessarily  both  in  the  same  week,  but  with  a  cer- 
tain weekly  average  minimum  of  written  work.  Composition  sections  should 
not  exceed  20  students  each,  and  a  smaller  number  is  preferable,  especially 
in  oral  training.  Ample  time  should  be  provided  for  private  personal  con- 
ference between  instructor  and  pupils,  for  both  oral  and  written  work,  all 
counted  and  paid  for  as  teaching  time,  thus  greatly  lessening  the  necessity 
and  labor  of  theme  correcting,  and  increasing  efficiency  by  a  ratio  greatly 
exceeding  the  necessary  increase  in  cost. 

Without  enumerating  other  topics  which  necessarily  will  be  fully  and 
authoritatively  covered  in  the  forthcoming  report  of  the  N.  E.  A.  committee, 
it  will  be  noted  that  even  the  few  points  stated  raise  further  questions  of 
the  utmost  importance,  to  which  answers  cannot  be  found  too  soon.  Per- 
haps the  most  pressing  of  these  is  the  question  as  to  the  relative  time  neces- 
sary in  oral  and  written  training  respectively  to  obtain  fairly  equivalent 
results  in  each.  Each  serves  its  own  ends,  and  neither  can  be  replaced  by 
the  other,  but  each  aids  the  other  in  certain  respects.  This  question  has  a 
most  important  bearing  upon  the  problems  of  labor  and  cost  discussed  in 
this  report.  So  far  as  it  can  be  answered  by  a  consensus  of  opinion,  the 
answer  is  almost  unanimous  that  oral  training  takes  more  time,  while  of 
course  greatly  lessening  the  burden  of  theme  correction.  English  teachers' 
associations  in  two  states  are  now  making  a  special  study  of  this  problem; 
in  one  instance  making  a  comparative  study  of  the  conditions  as  they  are 
found,  and  in  the  other  conducting  a  carefully  organized  experimental  test. 
A  fairly  definite  and  conclusive  answer  may  therefore  be  expected  within  a 
reasonable  time. 

Another  question  that  must  some  time  be  answered,  and  the  sooner  the 
better,  is  that  relating  to  the  feasibility  of  requiring  <the  cooperation  in  all 
schools  of  all  other  teachers  with  the  teachers  of  English,  and  the  nature 
of  the  results  that  may  be  expected.  It  seems  plausible  if  not  indeed  prob- 
able that  after  establishing  ideal  conditions  of  efficiency  in  the  English  class- 
room, the  influence  of  other  classes,  the  playground,  the  street,  and  the 
home,  may  after  all  by  mere  preponderance  of  time  largely  nullify  the 
English  teacher's  work.  While  it  is  true  that  they  cannot  under  improved 
conditions  nullify  it  in  the  same  measure  that  they  now  do,  and  that  it  may 
be  possible  to  secure  high  efficiency  in  spite  of  them,  it  is  also  true  that 
the  facts  should  be  ascertained  and  passed  upon.  An  organized  effort  to 
do  so  has  not  yet  been  made,  though  there  have  been  a  few  individual  ex- 
periments. Those  in  which  cooperation  was  occasional  and  purely  voluntary 
seem  invariably  to  have  failed;  and  so  have  those  in  which  the  English  of 
other  classes  was  passed  on  and  graded  by  the  English  teacher;  because 
in  neither  have  other  teachers  assumed  real  responsibility.  But  in  one  ex- 
periment now  in  progress  in  a  secondary  school,  it  is  made  a  part  of  the 
regular  duty  of  all  other  teachers  to  supervise  the  English  of  their  classes 
according  to  specific  and  simple  instructions,  whatever  the  subject  may  be, 
and  to  report  grades  on  English  to  the  English  department,  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  the  final  English  estimate.  This  experiment  promises  to  be 
successful;  it  has  been  in  operation  long  enough  to  demonstrate  that  it 
produces  very  apparent  good  results  in  English  without  increasing  expense 
in  other  departments. 

22 


The  same  school  has  found  an  even  more  marked  improvement  in  results 
to  follow  from  reducing  the  total  number  of  students  assigned  to  an  English 
teacher  in  accordance  with  the  data  published  by  this  committee.  This 
number  varies  from  60  to  50;  each  teacher  averages  not  more  than  17  reci- 
tations weekly,  and  spends  12  to  15  hours  weekly  in  private  conference  with 
pupils  and  5  hours  in  theme  reading.  The  proportion  of  oral  to  written 
exercises  is  5  to  1;  written  exercises  average  300  words  a  week  for  each 
pupil,  and  delivery  of  oral  exercises  requires  10  or  15  minutes  a  week  from 
each  pupil.  To  introduce  the  system  increased  the  previous  cost  of  teach- 
ing not  above  25  per  cenjt>  while  the  number  of  failures  compared  with 
that  of  neighboring  schools  in  the  same  period  has  been  reduced  one  half. 
This  in  general  terms  is  to  say  that  with  regard  to  one  single  point,  an  in- 
crease of  not  to  exceed  25  per  cent  in  expense  has  led  to  an  increase  of  100 
per  cent  in  efficiency.* 

Two  <xther  investigations  intimately  related  to  those  discussed  in  this 
report  are  now  being  undertaken  under  the  direction  of  the  National  Coun- 
cil of  Teachers  of  English.  One  of  these  relates  to  the  proper  preparation 
and  equipment  of  English  teachers  of  all  schools;  the  other  to  the  compara- 
tive cost  and  cither  conditions  of  the  English  work  of  the  lower  schools. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  present  movement  to  find  the  reasons  for  the 
present  unsatisfactory  educational  situation  in  English,  it  has  seemed  prob- 
able that  in  the  lower  schools  exists  the  greatest  need  of  all  for  improve- 
ment of  conditions;  and  that  if  proper  reorganization  could  there  be  brought 
about,  the  English  problems  of  the  higher  schools  would  be  greatly  sim- 
plified; but  so  great  and  so  complicated  is  the  problem  presented  by  the 
lower  schools  that  it  has  hitherto  been  passed  over.  It  is  now  proposed  to 
approach  it,  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Council,  through  affiliated 
organizations  everywhere;  and  the  present  committee  has  been  continued 
and  enlarged  for  this  special  purpose:  individual  members  of  the  committee 
to  take  charge  of  specific  parts  of  the  work  after  a  general  plan  is  formu- 
lated and  approved.  Also  further  report  remains  to  be  made  on  the  com- 
parative cost  of  teaching  college  subjects.  For  the  membership  of  the  en- 
larged committee,  and  other  details,  see  page  4. 

Questions,  criticisms,  suggestions,  and  information  of  any  sort  relating 
to  work  that  has  been  done,  is  to  be  done,  or  ought  to  be  done,  will  as  here- 
tofore be  welcomed  by  the  committee.  It  wishes  to  express  its  apprecia- 
tion of  the  help  of  many  earnest  co-workers,  its  desire  for  further  assist- 
ance, and  its  hope  that,  through  the  general  recognition  of  conditions  neces- 
sary to  good  results,  there  may  be  established  in  all  schools  a  high  and 
general  efficiency  in  English  teaching. 


*The  school  referred  to,  here  named  by  permission,  is  the  J.  Sterling  Morton  High  School 
of  Cicero,  Illinois,  Principal  H.  V.  Church.  The  following  statement  regarding  its  English 
work  is  quoted  from  the  letter  of  a  recent  visitor:  "I  never  saw  the  like  before  in  any 
school.  No  doubt  a  similar  condition  might  be  found  in  some  high  grade  private  schools, 
but  this  is  a  public  high  school,  in  a  community  largely  inhabited  by  foreigners,  a  school  in 
which  few  of  the  pupils  come  from  wealthy  families  *  *  *  *.  It  is  the  system  beyond 
all  question,  which  has  produced  the  results."  In  introducing  the  "system"  Mr.  Church 
has  had  the  effective  support  and  approval  of  all  his  teachers ;  of  other  subjects  as  well  as 
of  English.  See  report  in  English  Journal  for  March,  1913,  page  185. 

23 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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